Middle Of Nowhere
by Laree England
Summary: Natasha asks Clint an unusual request. I don't want to give too much away! The end of the war with the Chitauri finds the Avengers with nothing to do. So they rent a house in the middle of nowhere courtesy of Tony and Clint/Natasha and bromance insues! Mainly Clint/Natasha and Tony and Steve friendship. Taking requests for future chapters!


**A/N: Continuing this is a definite maybe. Future chapters probably wouldn't just be Clint/Natasha, but some bromance between the male characters as well. I might even take a stab at humor! Yay brotherly fluffiness! **_**IF YOU HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE CHAPTERS, PLEASE LET ME KNOW IN A REVIEW!**___**I'll be happy to write your suggestions! I've always wanted to try that, maybe I can start now? *hopeful begging position* Please?**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but two Avengers t-shirts that I wear maybe a bit too often…**

Clint couldn't remember the last time that he had relaxed. There was always a new enemy on the horizon, always some evil guy's tantrum to clean up after. Now Clint felt as though he had fallen off of an unexpected cliff edge. As soon as Loki left, SHIELD's stress level dropped dramatically down to zero, bringing the rest of the Avengers' down with it. Now they had no idea what to do with themselves. Personally, it set Clint's teeth on edge. His body was used to the rhythm of getting an adrenaline dump every other day. But, now - _nothing_.

He was lying down outside on his back, looking up at the stars and trying to convince himself that there were no freakish aliens lurking in the darkness behind the line of trees at the edge of the lawn.

When they had been given leave by SHIELD, the Avengers had decided to rent out a house in the middle of nowhere, the rent was already paid for by Tony. So far, only Clint had made it there, but the others would arrive later that night or early the next morning.

As he continued to study the sky, he decided it had to be the best hideout in the world up there. True to his name, Hawkeye had always preferred to be perched up high, away from the hustle and bustle down below. He could only imagine being that far above the world, so removed, alone, no one pestering him. No bad guys. No aliens to have to defend the Earth against. He'd just shoot them down before they even broke through the atmosphere. He'd put SHIELD out of business.

Clint stretched his arms out, feeling the cool grass between his calloused fingers. He began to bring them back down to his sides when a slender form gracefully slid into position beside him, using his arm as a pillow. Well, there was the adrenaline dump. Clint let out a little sound of surprise. Natasha grinned and her body shook slightly with silent, pleased laughter.

"Did I scare you, soldier?" Natasha teased, a mischievous look in her eye.

Clint tried not to focus on how close she was to him, and failed miserably. His voice was a little shaky as he said, "I might have pinned you to the ground with a knife at your neck if I hadn't recognized your warning label of a color of hair," he said, tousling a lock of it.

"Don't kid yourself," she said, shaking her hair out of her face.

Clint just grinned and tugged slightly at his lower lip with his teeth. If he could only get his heart rate down…

"What were thinking about?" she asked, bringing her knees up so that they made a triangle with the ground.

"Oh, I don't know. How eerie it is that there's no impending doom to worry about."

"I know what you mean," Natasha sighed. "Times like these are few and extremely far between. I just can't help but feel like it's the calm before the storm."

Clint turned his head to gain a full view of her face. She was looking up to the sky with a longing look in her eye, as if she was wishing to be hiding out behind a star just like he had a few minutes earlier. It made him want to hold her tighter and press his lips to her forehead. He hated that. He loved that.

Natasha took in a deep breath and turned her head, bringing her face unbearably close to Clint's. If she was feeling the same form of discomfort that Clint was, she was doing a fantastic job of hiding it.

"Enough with the heavy." she shifted her body, tucking her legs in and resting her head and her right hand on Clint's chest, the back of her head facing him. This gave him the liberty to close his eyes and take deep breaths, and mouth a string of cuss words. There was no chance that his even further quickened heart beat could slip past her now, and every time that she moved her long, beautiful fingers in any way his body would react by tensing and contracting, his breath catching and his heart sprinting. He hated that with a passion. He also loved that.

He saw Natasha's eyes close and she tilted her head inward, breathing deeply. Was it just him, or was Natasha taking in his scent? Clint silently prayed for her to begin talking, for he wasn't sure he'd be able to without his voice cracking, and he needed something to distract him from the way her body felt next to his.

Finally, she did, but Clint was not expecting what she said.

"Sing to me."

Clint blinked. "Sing?" one-syllable sentences seemed to be all he was capable of at the moment. Singing _for_ someone was much different than singing _to_ someone. The thought of singing _to_ Natasha… Clint swallowed.

Natasha propped herself up on her elbows, and Clint found himself immediately missing the weight of her head on his chest. She nodded.

"I heard you singing _American Pie_ in that cell in Beijing."

Clint was taken aback. "I thought that you were asleep!"

Natasha raised an eyebrow, as if to say, _You seriously think that I could sleep through that?_

Clint sighed. "I don't like singing in front of anyone. It goes in direct contrast with my personality."

"And we don't want to go and wreck Hawkeye's rep, do we?" Natasha said, a smirk tugging at the edge of her lips. Those beautiful lips…

_Snap out of it, Barton!_

"I happen to think that it compliments your personality very nicely." Natasha said matter-of-factly. "And I'm not just anyone, am I?" she gave him the best puppy dog eyes she could manage.

How could he resist that?

"I'm not any good," he argued weakly. He could feel his walls crumbling down.

"That is a lie," she didn't drop her gaze.

Clint tried to continue the argument, failed, and sighed. "What do you want to hear?"

Natasha laughed triumphantly and raised a fist in victory. "I have power over you!"

_You have no idea._

She rested her head back down on his chest. "Hm… I gotta make this good…" Natasha thought for a moment, but Clint got the feeling that Natasha had known what song she wanted long before she even lied down next to him. "_I'll Be the One. _Warren Haynes."

Clint let out a sigh of relief when she picked a song that both suited his voice and he knew the lyrics to.

"Don't you dare laugh at me," Clint warned, that little doubt that everyone carries with them that they aren't any good pressing down on his mind.

"You're a great singer," Natasha said, punching him in the side playfully. "Now entertain me."

Clint let out a small, nervous chuckle and then drew in breath. The lyrics rushed to him. His heart began to beat uneasily as he began to really think about what he was going to sing, and who exactly he was singing it to. Refusing to show more obvious signs of his feelings for the girl in his arms, he concentrated on keeping his voice even as he began to sing.

"_When you're walking down the street,_

_I'll be the one who stares like a statue._

_You turn the corner_

_I'll be the one that follows you downtown._

_When you finally notice me_

_I'll be the one fumbling with his feelings_

_Totally oblivious to anything else around…"_

By the end of the song, Clint was blushing so much that he could only hope that Natasha wouldn't turn to look at him until the color left his cheeks. He finished with a somber note and waited for her reaction. The moonlight shone down on her pale face, making her beauty look not at all short from a goddess.

He could almost feel her smiling against his chest as she raised a fist and said in her best Thor voice, "Another!"

Clint laughed out loud and subconsciously squeezed her shoulder with his hand. "No applause? I'm your personal entertainer now?"

"That's different from the entire time I've known you… how?"

Clint's heart throbbed. His imagination began to sprint, and he had to physically shake his thoughts from his mind. "Maybe you've used up all of my inventory?"

"You only know two songs?" Natasha clicked her tongue. "What about the one you were singing in the SHIELD showers this morning? I couldn't make out what you were saying, but it sounded good."

His stomach dropped. He _knew_ he shouldn't have sang that song within a ten mile radius of her!

"I didn't sing anything." Clint said gruffly.

"You can't lie to me, Clint. You should know this by now. I know you too well. Please sing it?"

"No."

Natasha lifter her head off of Clint again and looked right into his eyes. "Please?" she might not have done it on purpose, or maybe she did, but her fingers began to tug at his shirt, slowly gathering the fabric into her hand.

Damn. She knew how to pull his heartstrings.

"Okay," he gave in, but he sounded off, and his mouth was extremely dry. Natasha laid her head back down and continued to play with his shirt. How was he supposed to concentrate with her doing that? He took a few breaths, trying to gain back his composure before he sang again.

"_You say that love is for children,_

_So call me a child._

_Just give me a minute,_

_I'll be worth your while._

_Lend me your heart, _

_I won't break it in two._

_I'll go as far as to say_

_That I love you."_

The last note was barely above a whisper, but it hung in the air, echoing back to them. Natasha didn't move. She didn't say anything. Clint was beginning to wonder if she was even breathing.

"Tasha?" he whispered, looking down in concern.

She suddenly sat up, her feet tucked under her. Clint sat up as well, but kept his distance. He let her think. He regretted giving in and singing that. Couldn't he have just sang a different song that sounded just like it? He obviously hadn't been thinking clearly. He felt like an idiot. He had just completely ruined everything, and he could never take it back.

"Did you write that?" she asked shakily.

Clint remained silent. Natasha turned to look at him. So many emotions dashed across her face so quickly that Clint didn't have enough time to peg each one before it was replaced by another.

"Who's it about?" she tried to sound unconcerned and light with the question, but it came out more as a threat.

Clint bowed his head, looking at his hands that were folded in his lap. "I think we both know the answer to that."

Clint expected her to bombard him with questions, run away, cuss him out, _something_. But she just sat there, staring at him.

He cleared his throat. "You know, a reaction would be really great for me right now."

An intense fire sparked to life in Natasha's eyes, and Clint was very tempted to run away. Some part of him wondered if she had brought a gun with her.

Natasha grabbed his shirt, and Clint had steeled himself in preparation for her to punch him. Instead, Natasha brought him to her, pressing her lips to his. Clint was too stunned to react. He just sat there, still as a statue his eyes wide open and staring at Natasha as she closed her eyes and moved her lips against his.

"What the hell took you so long?" Natasha whispered, kissing him again.

When she pulled away, Clint was breathing hard, his heart begging to leap out of his body and rocket away into the sky. So many emotions rioted within his chest he was sure that he was going to explode. His whole body felt like he had just ran a mile, and to top it all off, he was gaping at her like a retarded fish, for lack of a better term.

Natasha tilted her head to the side. "The song was about me, right?"

Inside his head, Clint's mind screamed something along the lines of _OF COURSE IT IS! WHO ELSE WOULD IT BE? _but he just grinned, saying, "You know, it was actually about this hot Chitauri that I met online…"

Natasha gave him a disapproving look and shook her head at him. "You little - "

In a sudden surge of confidence Clint put a hand behind Natasha's neck and brought her face to his, his whole body tightening up as their lips touched. A sound came from the back of his neck, and Natasha laughed against him. Clint knotted his fingers in her hair. This was the best feeling in the world. Natasha placed a hand on his chest, right above his heart. Clint's face heated as he felt it pound against her hand. He was _Hawkeye_, master assassin and self-anointed bad ass. Not a little schoolboy with a run-away heart. But Natasha seemed to enjoy it, but in what sense, he wasn't sure yet. He hated that. He loved that.

Clint broke the kiss and pressed his forehead to hers. She was breathing heavily and was biting her lower lip, her eyes still closed. Clint placed his hand above hers, pushing it harder on his chest.

"I love you, Natasha. I love you so - "

"You talk too much," Natasha breathed, her beautiful eyes lifting. She gave her shoulder a slight shrug. "Not that that's a bad thing."

She kissed him quickly once more and lied back down, running her fingers through her hair. Clint lay down next to her, and Natasha immediately scooted close to him, burying her face in his chest. Clint wrapped his arms around her and kissed her on top of her head. He couldn't get over the fact that she was his. That she was his to hold, to kiss, to love. A smile spread across his face as he thought of the future.

Natasha gathered his shirt into her fist again. "I love you, too, Barton," she whispered.

That was when Clint knew exactly what it was like to fly among the stars.

…

Steve set down his suitcase slowly on the hardwood floor of the living room. He couldn't help but smile as he looked out of the sliding glass door that led out to the back lawn. Clint and Natasha lie together in a sweet silence, Natasha playing with Clint's shirt and Clint stroking her hair. Natasha turned around and kissed Clint tenderly. From the way that Clint reacted, Steve knew that Clint had to be the happiest man on earth.

"Steve?" he heard Tony call from the front room. They had flown over together in Tony's private jet.

Steve didn't respond. He turned swiftly around, trying to block the new couple from Tony's view.

Tony walked into the living room, his rolling suitcase in tow. "What's with the goofy grin?"

Steve wiped his face of all emotion. "What?"

Tony left his suitcase and gently pushed Steve away with the back of his hand, looking behind the super soldier and out at the assassins. Tony's crooked smirk developed on his face. "About time! I didn't know if I would be able to stand their longing stares any more. It's like we're on a soap opera or something." he shivered, looking away from them.

"Well you've got a while longer to live with them, Tony. Might as well get used to them now."

"Yeah yeah, sure," he said, waving a hand. "But if they break up while we're here, I'm using you as a human shield."

Steve smiled rolled his eyes. Tony grabbed his suitcase, went to the stairs, and began to ascend, the suitcase banging on the stairs behind him. Steve, as a reflex, picked up his own suitcase and jogged up to the billionaire, snatching the suitcase from Tony's hand and propping it up on top of his shoulder. He powered up the steps and turned around. Steve caught Tony in the act of grinning widely at him before he dropped the expression faster than a ton of bricks. Steve struggled to hide a smile of his own.

"Which room is yours?" he asked.

Tony continued to go up the stairs. "Which ever one is - " Tony stopped mid-sentence and mid-step. "…most convenient," he finished lamely, and Steve could see a hint of pink on the billionaire's cheek.

It was very rare to see Tony embarrassed, or at a loss for words. For them to happen at the same time… frankly, Steve was savoring every moment of it, and he couldn't help but wonder what he was going to say before he cut himself of. Steve nudged open the nearest door and set Tony's suitcase inside. It was a simple room with a bed, a dresser, desk and closet. Steve glanced across the hall and saw an identical room. Well, there went his worries of his team arguing over rooms like five-year-olds.

"Thanks, Cap," Tony said when he reached the top, clapping him on the shoulder. "I knew that I kept you around for something."

"What, it wasn't my irresistible charm?" Steve asked.

Tony wagged a finger at him. "Careful, there, Capsicle. You're starting to sound like me."

Steve held out his arms. "One can only hope, right?"

A pleasant expression softened Tony's face. "Goodnight, Steve." he said as he went into his room.

Steve picked up his suitcase and had a moment of indecision. There were a total of six rooms to sleep in, one already taken by Tony. What would the billionaire think if he picked the room right next to his when he had five to choose from?

Steve shrugged and turned the knob on that one anyway. He guessed he would find out in the morning.

**So if I continue this, Bruce and Thor are coming the next morning. And I'm not writing slash between Steve and Tony even though it may seem like it right now.**

_**PLEASE LEAVE SUGGESTIONS! Also, if anyone has a better title…?**_


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